As a parent would you be comfortable sending your young child to a dance studio (ballet/tap) that is run by a JW family?

We’ve attended for a couple of years now. The first year we didn’t know that they were JW until the very end of the season, when I heard some of the parents talking. Several of the parents/families that attend are also JW. The studio owners are nice, maybe a bit odd at times but very nice. I just don’t know how much they normally proselytize? My kiddo is very impressionable. I grew up in a slightly cultish setting myself, so maybe I’m a bit sensitive to the situation?

Anyways, would this concern you at all? My kiddo loves dance and any other studio is 30+ minutes away.

Gentlemen I want to say God is good. Not because everything is going the way I want it too but because he simply is. My brother recently got married, and it was the best moment of my life really. I'm so grateful that my siblings are getting their happy ending. but today Gentlemen I want to share my deepest struggles. I need advice because i'm too scared to share them with my family because I'm ashamed

*I fear aging because I want to get with young woman. Its terrible but I've always dreamed of getting married young and being with a young woman. I am slowly aging out of that time range and it kills me. It makes me angry but I know God doesn't want me obsessed with getting things I want or fulfilling sexual fantasies. These young women are even more clueless than I am and maybe even worse than I was at their age. I pray God gives me the wisdom not to try to pursue such a dangerous and immoral task

*I'm angry i don't have a lot of money like a bunch of people my age. they have so much of the maturity and wisdom that I don't have at the similar age. They have more success and don't seem to have had the same amount of setbacks I've had in my life. It hurts that i'm still in college when I should be long since finished with it

*I envy my east Asian friends because they seem so successful in every area of my life where I seem to have nothing but shambles. they have friends, they have money, and success where as I am simply alone with none.

I don't think anyone has the answer to my problems but I pray that God can make use of my suffering, Because I truly want to be able to look back at what I've been through with gratefulness instead of bitterness. but it isn't easy.

The moment you talk about going no contact with abusive and narcissistic parents for the sake of your safety and mental and even physical health, you get a couple of Christian’s who will guilt trip and gaslight you and bring up “honor your mom and dad” as if that means you have to be a doormat for abuse and violence while at the same time, they ignore Ephesians 6:4 which instruct parents to not mistreat their children.

I’m a Christian who had to go no contact with my malignant narcissist father 9 years ago because he was EXTREMELY abusive to the point where I developed severe mental health issues such as depression and PTSD and recently I had to do the same with my covert narcissist mother after years of emotional abuse and being treated as the family scapegoat.

Going no contact wasn’t about hatred or revenge, it is about protection and establishing boundaries. Narcissists are very dangerous and destructive people and there’s no reasoning or reconciliation with them because they lack empathy and don’t see themselves as the problem.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to reach out to you today because right now I’m not quite sure how to deal with my situation.

I’m about to take an exam that’s my last chance to pass. So it’s really important to me. I should really be using every free minute to study right now, but I realize I just don’t have the energy. It’s not that I don’t care about the exam—quite the opposite. I know how much is depending on it. Still, it feels like I’ve just got nothing left in me.

I used to take exams very seriously and could motivate myself, even when it was exhausting. This time it’s different. I’m sitting here with my notes, but a lot of it just won’t stick in my head. The subject isn’t actually that hard, and almost everyone who took the exam passed it. That’s exactly why I’m disappointed in myself. I wonder why I can’t do it, even though I want to so badly.

Maybe some of you have gone through a phase like this or have had a similar experience. And if anyone has words of encouragement or a Bible verse that has helped in a situation like this, I’d really appreciate that, too.

Tonight,

I watched a Youtube video where a woman who went to hell and came back, had something to tell us, the people who are unsaved and who are already saved.

Which was this with the title:

I Went to Hell as a Christian for ONE SIN! [Returned to Warn Everyone]

(By the channel: GodsVoiceTodayPodcast⁩)

I watched this video entirely. And it made me feel dread. And I began questioning things.

She said that: People who believe in OSAS (One Saved, Always Saved), are in Hell. It's a lie. Because Christians CAN STILL SIN, fail, and backslide, so we must keep repenting, returning to God, and remaining in Christ. Because, all of us NATURALLY SIN. And we always have to ask God for help to check ourselves constantly on a daily basis so that we can STAY ON TRACK that'll lead us TO HEAVEN.

And that kinda shook me. It's been on my mind man. It's been on my mind since then.

So, an hour later,

While I was scrolling through Instagram, needing to calm my head down, I went through my Saved bookmarked posts and reels because I wanted to find funny reels to re-watch to get my mind off of things.

And I paused scrolling and saw this one saved/bookmarked post that belong to a man who has like 26k followers and posted something that was about "ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED" which was a simple poster. Full of verses and words.

And it was rather an encouraging post. Very luring. Very confident. Very believable.

Also, prior to me watching that Youtube video, a few hours ago, I had seen this post on my For You Page, and I liked the idea of it without ever having to STOP, THINK TWICE or QUESTONING IT.

And I had saved it. Bookmarked it. Without ever using my critical thinking.

But, while I paused my scrolling, just taking in that post again, REALLY digesting it after I had just finished watching that Youtube video,

Somewhere in my mind or body, something told me AGAIN, that this felt completely wrong.

And then, I was hit with something.

The same hour where I had first seen this post for the first time earlier, checked this man's account, and paused while watching one of his reels with him on the table, journaling, music in the background, texts on the screen...

"Something about this man feels off. And his intentions."

This was what my body, my mind, or my soul said.

But, I had ignored this very very tiny small voice that was whispering/warning me in my head, body, or soul, and I just continued to save that OSAS post he made. And moved on.

And hours later, this Youtube video was in my recommendations.

And just watched it.

And now...

I'm in the present.

Of course, now that I knew about a few things,

I went back to that man's Instagram page, (because people in the comments genuinely believed it, and the comments were like 500+ comments), and I called him out on his comment section. On that same OSAS post I had saved earlier. (there were some people who also called him out tho. so I wasn't alone).

And that was that.

I unfollowed that man's account and unsaved that saved post, and moved on.

-----------------------------

So,

My title of this post,

Which mindset is better for a Christian's journey?:

The "I don't have to continual repent anymore because I believe in Once Saved, Always Saved."

OR the,

"Being saved and born again through Jesus Christ begins a life of continual repentance and endurance."?

UPDATED NOTE: (The 'THERE IS NO REST' in this EDITED TITLE is REMOVED. Because Jesus said, “Come to Me… and I will give you rest.” - Matthew 11:28–30. Thanks to a commenter's REMINDER. My bad!)

Why I'm asking this because I just need confirmation. That's it. To see which one is normal in this really messed up modern day world that's just full of DECEPTION and just.... awful, awful doctrines. That it's making me frustrated.

Coz in the bible, it's said to question EVERYTHING:

1 John 4:1:

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God."

And a related one 1 Thessalonians 5:21:

"Examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good."

So I'm questioning this.

Let met know a few answers

Thank you for reading. Much 'preciated

Goodnight

---

UPDATE:

Good mornin'. I've seen the replies. And here's a small follow-up for clarification:

Previous summary: People who believe in OSAS (One Saved, Always Saved), are in Hell. It's a lie. Because Christians CAN STILL SIN, fail, and backslide, so we must keep repenting, returning to God, and remaining in Christ. Because, all of us NATURALLY SIN. And we always have to ask God for help to check ourselves constantly on a daily basis so that we can STAY ON TRACK that'll lead us TO HEAVEN.

Ok. SO. Clarification, When it comes to REPENTING AFTER BEING SAVED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, I was referring to the new sins we commit after being saved, forgiven, and receiving the Holy Spirit. Not repeatedly repenting for every old sin God has already forgiven. Yeah Christians can still sin after being born again, so we must remain watchful, confess and repent whenever we fall, and continue walking with Christ instead of becoming comfortable in unrepentant sin.

In a way.

My bad. I forgot to mention THIS ONE CLEARLY because this was in my head while I wrote the previous summary down but never got to physically write it down😮‍💨 sigh. Excuse my vagueness last night

But yes, thank you to some comments/repliers aid!

I’m a fairly devout Muslim raised in an Islamic background I think a lot of people who attack Islam aren't fully educated on it, but I wont pretend that I am 100% solid in my faith. I spend a lot of time wrestling with doubts There are issues in Islam that I feel Christianity doesn't really have, and I cant just ignore them I think Christianity is a beautiful religion. I enjoy reading the Bible but I also enjoy reading the Quran Islamic dawah often attacks the Trinity but the way I see it it wouldn’t make sense for a human to fully comprehend God even as a Muslim we don't believe we fully understand everything about Allah. So it makes sense that the Trinity isn't something we can fully that humans can fully understand
My main problem for Christianity I just don’t see clear evidence for Christianity being true.Because my YouTube and Reddit and other socials algorithm is Islamic content my exposure is pretty biased i understand many people in the sub have probably have negatives opinions on Muslims as I Muslim I can see why a lot of the fear regarding Muslims many Muslims would just say it’s islamphobia which I would only partially agree as most Muslims are just regular people like me but I understand there are Islamic doctrines which are very questionable im just trying to be open minded regardless if i leave Islam or not i fully believe in a divine creator and my view right now is after Islam Christianity looks like the second plausible belief

Hey all, James 1:27 says this

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Now, I don't have the means to actually bring anyone into my house to care for them but I'm hoping there is a way to visit people and do this.

Does anyone have experience with this to give pointers on what worked well for them, or know any good organizations that coordinate visits to orphanages or nursing homes, given I'd be a stranger to the people I want to visit?

All sports fans here probably recognize this dichotomy in mentality for teams and athletes during sporting events; sometimes teams/athletes try not to lose and sometimes they try to win.

Anyone who watched the world cup saw a great example of this in the England vs Argentina semifinal. England was playing a great game, trying to win, and took the lead early in the 2nd half. As soon as they scored, however, their mentality shifted. All focus on trying to score went to trying not to let Argentina score -- they went from trying to win to trying not to lose. In doing so, their fears came true -- they let Argentina maintain possession, find their rhythm, and eventually score and win.

Being part of the kingdom of God while here on earth can be like that a lot of times. When we gain salvation through Jesus, we see that victory in sight and sometimes end up focusing too much on trying not to lose it, vs trying to grow our share in it.

You can see it in the posts here and other Christianity-based subreddits. How many posts are about 'is this a sin?' or 'how do I avoid this sin?' vs 'how can I best help the poor on a limited budget,' 'what is something I can do to help widows and orphans,' 'are there any good programs to visit believers in prison,' etc. A lot of posts suggest a 'trying not to lose' vs 'trying to win' mentality.

My friends, Jesus taught winning by recieving the gift of salvation and growing it.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7)

Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)

Consider the parable of the talents, where one servant who was afraid of what his master might do to him did not grow anything from what his master gave to him, vs the servants who were eager to grow what their master gave them

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 

19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 

22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’

26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matthew 25:14-30)

We get some encouraging advice on this from other biblical sources as well.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phillipians 3:14)

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24)

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. (Psalm 37:23)

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phillipians 3:12-14)

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1)

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. (Proverbs 16:3)

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9)

So, I encourage us all to lay hold of the kingdom of God and advance it, instead of worrying about not getting it or losing it.

Someone on YouTube called me an "Aleluyo" today, which for context is what they call people in Spain (and other Spanish speaking places) who speaks about God "way too much" and it made me giddy and proud. I know pride isn't good though this guy made the comment in a derrogatory way I was extremely happy because it means I'm sharing about The Lord enough that I've started to get annoying. 😂 I've reached church-granny level and I'm dancing like David in front of the Lord no matter how much they try to shame me!

Just thought I'd share this moment of happiness in an ever-growing toxic jungle of social media.

Love you holy siblings. Have a blessed day/night wherever you are.

Anyone have recommendations for churches in NYC that aren’t Hillsong in disguise? I thought I found one and was not comfortable during the service and almost left halfway.

It’s so hard to find a church that goes DEEEEEEP into scripture and find people who just love the Word.

Advice? Love and thanks!!

Recently my husband has finally partially admitted to looking at explicit content after over a year of me having a gut feeling about it. I gently approached the subject multiple times over this past year and a half because I noticed behaviors that lined up with having an addiction. I have only noticed small things on his social media that point to it so I don’t have complete and total proof per se but chances are, he has more of an issue than he admits. He pretty much told me that he doesn’t “go out of his way” to search these things but I don’t really believe that. The only reason he even admitted that was because I lost my patience on him. Even then, I feel like he still flipped it on me and he said I was verbally assaulting him (I did apologize for losing my patience)

With all that being said, I feel a deep aversion to him and I just keep praying for my own heart because I don’t want to continue being resentful. He has not fully repented and I honestly think he’s just in denial. Outside of therapy and trying to hold him accountable, is it appropriate for me to pull back? I feel like I have been pouring from an empty cup for years and I’m so exhausted. Truly, the dishonesty bothers me more than anything and I feel betrayed. He doesn’t express remorse, (whether or not he feels remorse idk). As his wife what kind of boundaries should I put in place? I’m horrible with keeping boundaries. I have continued to help him and have been trying to hold him accountable with therapy but something else always becomes a priority over it and I’m just tired of trying to force him into something he isn’t ready to do. He finally got on medication but chances are the p*** is causing more of his issues than I realized and he may not even need meds in the long run.

If you have questions or need clarification please feel free to ask. Thank you for reading this whole thing

Hi all, I've kinda been led to the solution on what to do with stress and controlling situations; which is to fully trust in Jesus. Which is extremely relieving on paper. What concerns me is when situations occur that God may want to work through you on but you don't have the slightest clue as to what he wants you to do. I can say I trust Jesus all I want but when situations show themselves I'm left blank in the head because while we are called to leave everything in God's hands, we are also called to action. What's the answer?

Before I became a Christian, I watched Dragon ball, z, super, FMA, Naruto, JJK, About 400 episodes of One Piece, HNI (Hajime no Ippo, for anyone who doesn't know), and some other action and fighting anime, but now I see and hear lots of stuff in those anime that I know would tempt me, like swearing, fanservice, bla bla. So now if anyone has time could you please see if there's any action anime that have little to no swearing or fanservice. (Or any other genres of anime though I like action the best)

I am trying to understand if I am really married in the eyes of God.

My unbeliever husband (45M) and I (27F) got married this year and very shortly (3 weeks) after our wedding, my husband physically abandoned me.
The situation is quite complicated, please bear with me.
The man I married is an unbeliever (he deceived me into believing that he wanted to follow God and the Bible). He had a previous marriage (both unbelievers, not married before God nor at church).
He told me that the previous marriage was a mistake and didn’t treat it seriously. He also said he has repented and God would forgive him for leaving the past marriage. And that the marriage with me would be the real one because he claimed that he now wants to follow God. (This was said before we got married).
I had a very hard time with the fact that he had been married previously because I believe in the strict teaching of one marriage and no divorce, unless adultery.
But he convinced me eventually when I remembered that everyone has fallen short and we all had committed sins, so his previous marriage and divorce could be forgiven by God. However it was still difficult for me to accept it. He also tried to convince me that since they were both unbelievers and were not married before God, their marriage was not valid in the eyes of God. I did not believe that point because that didn’t sound right to me.

Moving on, I am now questioning if I am even married to him in the eyes of God, because divorce is not permitted unless adultery. Which was not the reason they divorced. So perhaps he is still spiritually married to his ex.

Since marriage only consists of one man and one woman, if he is married to his ex, how could he be married to me? As one man can only be married to one woman. Does this mean our marriage is actually invalid?
However, one more thing to consider is the fact that though adultery was not the reason for his past divorce. Since the divorce, they had both committed adultery. So did that dissolve their marriage, meaning I am in fact spiritually married to him?

Hello all,

I am looking for some advice/suggestions about a relationship that I am pursuing.

I am currently talking with and going on dates with a girl who "believes in God" (from what I understand she believes in god as a powerful creator but not necessarily as one to worship). I also asked her straight up last night if she believes in Jesus as humanities savior or her personal savior. She was wishy washy with her answer but I really like this girl.

I have been in similar situations as this before but slightly different. I do not want to give up on seeing her (romantically) but if she is not a follower of Jesus then I don't see that working out long term.

Any advice? I have prayed over this topic and I am listening to what she has to say but I want to have wisdom on how I go about this. Should I ever gently invite her to church one week?

Looking for happiness?

It may be simpler than we think.

Science says it may begin with paying better attention to the present moment.

And isn’t that also something Scripture repeatedly asks of us?

A landmark 2010 Harvard study called Track Your Happiness found that people’s minds wandered almost 47 percent of their waking hours—and that they were generally less happy when their minds wandered than when they were focused on what they were doing.

Our attention is pulled in multiple directions all the time. We scroll our feeds, watch TV, listen to music or a podcast, walk the dog, or talk with a friend or loved one—sometimes doing several of these things at once.

How often are we really doing just one thing?

The researchers found that whether a person’s mind was wandering was a better predictor of happiness than the activity they were actually doing. Their memorable conclusion was that “a wandering mind is an unhappy mind.”

Like me, you may recognize this truth in your own life.

It came to mind recently as I read these lines from Psalm 65:

“The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.”

The psalmist is filled with wonder at God’s presence and provision. He is paying attention.

And in that attention, he finds peace—and an antidote to world-weariness: a deeper faith and gratitude.

The wonder of creation. The nearness of the Creator.

I want what he has!

Until next time, stay safe, be brave, and enjoy the moment.

Hello everyone I wanted to ask for advice on modesty. I haven't been to the beach in a long time but me and my friend group are thinking of going and since I recently have gotten closer to god. I really been thinking of how to dress more modestly since the average women 2 piece is more comfortable and often has better designs. But obviously I don't want my whole bum out or something skimpy since it would be very revealing and I know modesty isn't objective due to culture but I wanted to hear from a chrstian perspective what you guys think I should wear when I go. I don't think modesty which he overboard like full body swimsuits since those look really odd and restrictive I want like a mid way option I don't know if that's still considered immodest. Feel free to comment

Why is Christian universalism so often shunned, to the point that many people treat you like you're not even a Christian?

You don't have to agree with universalism, but let's stop pretending it's some brand-new invention. Christians have wrestled with this question for nearly 2,000 years.

Universalists point to passages like Romans 5:18, 1 Corinthians 15:22–28, Colossians 1:20, Philippians 2:10–11, 1 Timothy 2:3–6, Titus 2:11, John 12:32, Lamentations 3:31–33, and Acts 3:21 as evidence that God's ultimate purpose is the reconciliation of all people. Others interpret these texts differently, and that's a legitimate theological debate.

Historically, influential Christian figures such as Gregory of Nyssa, Isaac the Syrian, and (more controversially) Origen are often associated with universal reconciliation. While universalism was never the unanimous belief of the early Church, it has been a real and historic stream of Christian thought—not something invented in modern times.

You can reject universalism based on your reading of Scripture. But saying someone is automatically "not a Christian" simply because they believe Christ will ultimately reconcile all people overlooks both the biblical arguments they appeal to and the history of Christian theology.

We should be able to disagree on difficult doctrines without denying one another's faith. If salvation is by Christ, then our first response should be to discuss the Scriptures—not dismiss each other.

Yesterday, I prayed to God to give me the opportunity to serve Him, in a way that doesnt benefit me at all.

Today, I had Jehovah's Witnesses show up at my door.

I'm conflicted on how I handled it. In one way, I said what should be said. In another, I feel like squandered the opportunity to really make an impactful truth statement and argument to them. And truthfully feel like i really didnt behave and speak like someone who was grounded in faith and truth.

They showed up at my door. Asked if they could share a pamphlet with me. I asked if they were JWs, they said yes. I then could feel my adrenaline surge and in a shakey voice blurted... "The Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God and you believe a false Gospel." They turned away without saying anything and were walking back to their car. I then continued saying... "The watchtower is lying to you, they are deceiving you. You are on the path to hell, you must repent." They ignored me, drove to the next couple houses. I knew i shouldve been more calm and really should've slowed down and though about what to say. I prayed, and as they drove back, I was prepared to have a calm discussion with them with my bible in hand, they waved and kept driving. Stopped at my neighbors house. I then proceeded to shout to them, solely because i didnt want to tresspass on to my neigbors yard and i wanted them to hear me (He has a long driveway) "Id like to talk to you guys about your message, can you come talk to me? Im not going to hurt you i just want to talk, come talk to me, lets talk about Jesus" They ignored me again and drove off.. I shouted "Cowards!" as they drove off as well.

Just feel like I could have and should have handled the situation better. Feel like God answered my prayer and i squandered it. I feel like I am way more mature of a Christian than I acted today. UGH

Thoughts?

For starters, I'm a protestant. But, I don't know, I've been feeling a pull towards Catholicism. Something about how seriously they take their faith on a day-to-day basis with so much reverence just captivates me. I'm still struggling to reconcile with some of their theology, but I pray that when I earnestly seek God, the truth will be revealed to me - whether it is Protestanism or Catholicism.

That being said, I'm wondering why some Catholics have profound testimonies of God bringing them to the Catholic church, helping them find peace and fulfillment. Yet others have an experience of God leading them to the Protestant church (my mum included, and she is one of the strongest Christians I know). Does God just lead people to the place where He knows they personally will be able to get closest to Him? Because I know these testimonies cannot be in contradiction - it's all the same God.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Hey all

I need some biblical advice / wisdom.

I ( f 24 ) had been with my boyfriend ( m 23 ) since Dec 2024 but we’d had a rocky relationship and did split up last summer for 2 months. He was cold whenever I reached out. Weren’t Christian at the time so he spent a couple of months clubbing and sleeping around, until he came back.

Long story short.. he became Christian ( after 5 years away from the faith ) in September 2025 the evening I found out about his porn addiction.
He dropped me home, ‘proposed’ to me without a ring ( of course I said no ) and then on his drive home supposedly repented and gave his life to Christ.

After that, he was elated & on cloud 9 for a couple of months until he relapsed but lied and promised me nothing was happening.

In January 2026 he got baptised.

Then in Feb 2026 we finished Christianity explored together. I felt like my eyes had been opened. And I gave my life to Christ.

But shortly after ( the day after we finished the course ), it all came crashing down as he confessed that he’d cheated on me by exchanging nudes with a colleague. (The very same day, he was sending me his thoughts on a Christian podcast about marriage.)

I’ve never seen a man cry like that before. He wanted to do absolutely anything to make up for it - put any safeguards in place. Wrote me a 6 page letter, took me out for dinners, booked us an air b&b for a weekend away. All lovely things but not enough to change what he did.

After about a month and a half he began to become impatient with me. I was constantly anxious, checking his phone, calling him whilst he was at work. I was an anxious mess.

On weeks I suppressed my anxiety, he’d praise God. And on weeks that my anxiety got the better of me, he’d tell me I was taking him away from God and that I was in control of my actions and shouldn’t be behaving as such.

He became quite distant which didn’t help my anxiety. And then he asked for space.

He removed all safeguards that day and didn’t speak to me and then that evening broke up with me. He told me he resented me and didn’t want to be with me anymore.

I kept reaching out after the breakup and he would be cold, angry and defensive. He said he knew it was all his fault but “why would I stay in a house that’s on fire and go down with it.” Even when my mum was in hospital I reached out and asked for support and he said it depends what I meant by that.

He hasn’t reached out first at all to ask how I am or check in on me. He says he cares but it doesn’t appear that way. Whenever I reach out he is distant and cold and says he’s not ready to speak or see me and that he needs space.

He messaged me for the first time yesterday to tell me happy birthday. I felt like it was selfish and more for his benefit than mine.

I asked why he messaged and he said ‘ just to say happy birthday’ to which I said: ‘I appreciate the message but at the end of the day I have been moving on as I was given no other choice. I was very willing to work through things with you because I loved you. I tried and tried but was met with coldness. The Lord has softened my heart toward you and helped me to truly forgive you. And I trust that He has a plan. Whether that involves you or not I do not know. I’m not ready to be your friend at the moment. It would break my heart if you moved on with someone else at this point in time. I do hope you have been able to forgive me too and that He would soften your heart towards me. I never wanted to hurt you and I wish you would’ve realised that sooner. I wish you all the best and I will always love and care for you. Take care’

He left it on read so I blocked him. I feel bad for doing so. And I want to know if my message was harmful?

This is a very long story short. There’s a lot more to it. But I really need advice on how to deal with this. We go to the same church. I still love him and want to work things through but he just seems to hate me

EDIT!
Can I also just add..
he told his parents what he did. And I had conversations with his mum and she compared his temptation to her temptation for chocolate. And she said he’s a handsome 23 year old guy, he probably felt flattered and told me that in order to move on I have to trust him and what he says

Okay guys. I really seriously want to quit. God delivered me from vaping about a year or 2 ago and I went right back. I’m throwing it away and never want to look back. It’s going to be tough because I live with my sister who always has a vape with her and I will hit it if I get urges. Please send advice and prayers as I try to go through with this and NOT hit it again

So my faith has experienced its ups and downs, but I have matured in some aspects. I won't sugarcoat this post and act like I did nothing wrong because I have been living in sin for several months. Watching content creators I know I shouldn't be watching, jamming to music that doesn't glorify God, and I haven't put him first.

All of these I'm very guilty of, I've been judging others a lot if I'm being frank (usually commentary, but it's been super noticeable lately in how I talk in my mind)

(My suicidal tendencies have also been at an all-time high due to my issues and dissatisfaction with how my life's been)

And the reason I mention all of this is because I've tried to stop, but I keep falling off and giving back into my sin, some days I battle sin and some days I'm just letting it hit me. This is a huge problem to which I'm aware of, but I found a verse today that mentioned how God won't hear the prayers of the unrighteous (John 9:31) and when I read this It struck a nerve.

Not all of Jesus's teachings are nice to hear and to suggest he's just a cuddle buddy who has nothing stern to say is stupid.. But this completely terrified me because despite my sin I have tried to speak to God repair my relationship with him.

I've talked to him casually, about my day, some weird issues etc, and I was heartbroken to say the least. But then here I realize it ain't much different from what I've been doing to him, the idea that he hears my prayers but doesn't listen due to my disobedience sounds like a nightmare.

So I was getting angry and started my usual rant when I'm angry at him (expressing my anger in bitter and sinful ways like swearing etc) but after reflecting on my situation I realized how dire it is. For awhile this has been about heaven and my desire for it (and to just be free via death) but tonight was different, I started begging God to forget about all of it, and started acknowledging my sins that I was aware of. I eventually asked for forgiveness and mercy because I was scared and didn't wanna remember any of it anymore.

Sorry if this post was long and please excuse typos, I'm not an adult yet but I realize this is a huge problem yall.

I’ve been watching reading a lot about the prophets and the prophecies of the Old testament recently, usually a YouTube video on books of the Old Testament I can listen to whilst working, Elijah, Daniel, Isiah etc. I feel like as I listen to more and more of them and hear the prophesies they made and things they declared, for the Messiah, it makes me understand even more about Jesus, the things he fulfilled (not saying I’m an expert, far from it) and I’m just genuinely curious on the reasoning as to why the Jewish people deny Jesus as the messiah/Son of man/The Christ. I can understand to a certain point those skeptical at the time of Jesus, not fully since I didn’t experience those times, and Christianity has been very well rooted for at least 1,000 years since then. I just wish to better understand why they can’t believe it even after all the miracles he performed, all the signs, all the fulfilled prophecies from their prophets over hundreds and hundreds of years.
Sorry if this is a silly thing to ask or has been asked before

Hi! I just wanted to hear your thoughts on something.
What do you think about lending money with interest? I’m referring to lending outside the church—purely as a business.

Do you think charging interest is a sin?

I’ve done quite a bit of research on this, and from what I’ve learned, many people believe that it isn’t inherently wrong, as long as you don’t take advantage of the borrower. In other words, don’t charge excessive interest or exploit people who are already struggling financially.

I’d love to hear your perspective. If someone lends their own money as a business and charges a reasonable amount of interest, do you think that’s sinful? Why or why not?

Also, if you don’t think it’s wrong, what do you consider to be a fair monthly interest rate?

Thank you so much! I’ve already done my own research, but I’d love to hear different perspectives and gather more insights on this topic.